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Original poster

Anyone been to chessington theme park recently?

23 replies

cultureplanet · 29/10/2023 06:21

Last went…. Oh about two decades ago!

Passing through and thought might stop in for a few hours with my 13 and 11 year old.

Needn’t be high adrenaline rides etc because the children won’t know we’re stopping by and just the surprise itself will make them super happy. However - if the consensus is that it’s poor, then I’ll dodge.

just looking for a few hours of mindless fun really.

TIA

OP posts:
Original poster
cultureplanet · 29/10/2023 06:24

Oh and very busy? We’d be going next week

OP posts:
GailTheFish · 29/10/2023 06:27

I go regularly as it’s near to me. It is pretty good - there’s a new area just opened with some new fast rides which are great. I would check the opening hours though as these become more limited after half term finishes. And it’s really expensive to just turn up, so definitely look into booking with discount codes before you go!

GailTheFish · 29/10/2023 06:31

Next weekend they’ll have fireworks on, so I’d expect that to be pretty busy (ie maybe 45-60 mins queue for the bigger rides). There’s an app that lets you check live queue times while you’re there which is handy. I’d recommend getting there early and heading straight to the faster rides if you want to do them (Vampire/Croc Drop/Dragon’s Fury).

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GailTheFish · 29/10/2023 06:35

Actually, it looks like they aren’t doing fireworks this year, so it might not be too busy next weekend.

Original poster
cultureplanet · 29/10/2023 06:37

Brilliant thanks
was thinking of going next Friday (children still on half term)

OP posts:
Cincinnatus · 29/10/2023 06:44

We went on Monday. We took a group of 10 year olds. If it had been just me and my child I would have paid for fast track/quick access or whatever it’s called.

It wasn’t too bad. It was busy and lots of waiting. Mostly 1hr or 1hr 30 mins. Always waiting for the women's toilets. Bottle of water will cost £2.85. There is a KFC style place that is the most reasonable. Lots of people always giving the security guards shit. Very odd.

The park got very quiet at 6pm so they got on a lot of rides then.

I absolutely hate stuff like this but on the whole it was okay.

Make sure you book in advance. Think our ticket was £30 but on the day it would be £60.

Original poster
cultureplanet · 29/10/2023 07:48

Huge thanks

definitely will buy the fast passes

OP posts:
Passthecake30 · 29/10/2023 07:52

We went last week with a 13&15 yr old, queues were about 70mins. Note that mandril mayhem, the newest ride has an online reserve requirement, and that was maxed out for the day by 11.45.
Smokehouse bbq is good for lunch, but queuing there took about 40 mins too.
If they still have the Halloween activities (area with actors dressed up), go in - that was the best thing there!

Original poster
cultureplanet · 29/10/2023 07:57

Mumsnet is brill

i wonder whether any quieter next week? Or loads still on half term as mine are?

OP posts:
musicinspring1 · 29/10/2023 08:00

Locally its a mix - a few secondary schools still on half term but not all. Most were this week.

NmeChngeFail · 29/10/2023 08:02

I went in June and loved it. I would live there of i could.

The Vampire ride reminds me of my childhood visits so much, so it was great to revisist it.

Also the music as you're walking through the park and the ambiance.😍

megletthesecond · 29/10/2023 08:03

Hampshire are back to school this week. There is potentially very bad weather at the end of this week though which might affect rides if it happens.

girlsyearapart · 29/10/2023 08:05

We went yesterday - I got my tickets on eBay so check on there.
Ds 11 did the enchanted hollow trick or treat trail and got absolutely stacks of chocolate ( it’s sponsored by Cadbury I think) so that was worth the extra. As a pp said the rides are quieter later on.

The new jumanji roller coaster is v good - I couldn’t manage to get a virtual queue slot but dd 15 managed to get it twice and you have up to 6 people on the booking.

girlsyearapart · 29/10/2023 08:07

Missed your most recent post.
We live fairly locally. My lot are all back by Wednesday ( secondary )
I go back tomorrow ( primary)
I only know of one local school still off all of next week

LauraFedora · 29/10/2023 08:09

Timely thread for me as I'm going next weekend for the first time. It's a grandchild's birthday and we're all staying at the on site hotel. Not a theme park fan generally so I'll be mostly holding the bags and coats 😄, but some useful information here that I can pass on so thanks!

SurreyMumOfOne · 29/10/2023 08:11

Normally I'd say you're mad if it's only for a few hours because if SO expensive. Plus I wouldn't bank on the excitement alone being enough... once they get there and see the rides they'll pretty quickly work out what they want to go on.

But as pp have said, it's only half term next week for very few schools locally. Only a handful I know of who have a two week half term. So you might be ok, especially if happy to for out for fast passes.

Just keep an eye on the weather forecast before you commit. If the winds are as bad as currently forecast, there might be very little operating. But at the moment, it's changeable.

Original poster
cultureplanet · 29/10/2023 08:45

forecast for next Friday looks ok but I’ll hold off booking I think

thanks so much

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GeorgeSpeaks · 29/10/2023 08:56

It's good but rides not as extreme as the ones at Thorpe Park. The zoo bits are lovely.

My kids are local and are off next week but not all local schools are.

DiscoBeat · 29/10/2023 09:02

The park got very quiet at 6pm so they got on a lot of rides then.

It was open at 6? Our teens wanted to go this week and specifically wanted to be there in the dark. Online it says they close at 5pm every day so we didn't go.

Cincinnatus · 30/10/2023 17:33

Last week on Monday it closed at 7pm. Maybe just for the half term?

Savedmybacon · 25/11/2023 06:39

Wisdom needed please - thinking of taking the teens on the first day of Christmas holidays - will stuff be open? Will it be packed?

girlsyearapart · 25/11/2023 10:16

There’s a few rides open but not all so check before - I think jumanji and vampire are open
lots of Xmas stuff so will probably be a younger crowd ?

Savedmybacon · 25/11/2023 13:46

Thanks @girlsyearapart - was wondering if that might be the case

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